When you think about your favourite restaurant, what comes to mind first? Maybe their incredibly tender kebabs, perfectly crafted cocktails or prompt service.
But even back in 2014, studies showed that restaurant interior design—from the overall aesthetic of space to details like lighting and even the design of tableware—has a significant impact on customer satisfaction.
This is even more true in today’s digitalised world, where a restaurant being ‘Instagrammable’ is just as important for its success as any other factor.
A beautiful yet functional interior that meets a restaurant's complex and practical needs is critical for creating a dining experience that will stick in your customers’ minds long after their meal is over.
So let’s delve into restaurant interior design tips using which you can blur the physical and psychological hindrances and unlock exceptional dining experiences for your guests.
How to Get Started With Restaurant Interior Design
While it may be tempting to plunge into designing your space to reflect your creative vision, it’s equally as important to keep certain practical considerations in mind to make sure your customers’ experience is not hampered.
Here are some of the things you need to consider:
1. Optimise seating capacity & layout
Space inside the restaurant is a critical factor in the dining experience. Depending on the type of restaurant your business is into, you’ll need to optimise the space.
For instance, per customer, the recommended square footage ranges from 11 sq. ft. for fast food joints to 20 sq. ft. for fine dining restaurants.
The size of your tables should also vary based on how intimate an atmosphere you want to create.
For example, an eclectic café or candlelit spot might benefit from two or three-person tables, while a family restaurant would need much larger ones.
In any case, it’s a good idea to have a few tables that can seat large groups to accommodate gatherings of all kinds. If your space permits a mix of different table layouts, you may go for it too.
2. Temperature & ventilation
Imagine guests coughing and sweating while waiting for the food to arrive. Yikes!
A perfect temperature and ventilation setup in the dining area is one that your customers will not even notice yet will impact their experience considerably.
For instance, location will play an important role in this, so will the size and density of the seating arrangement. In addition, you must address the restaurant-specific HVAC challenges like kitchen fumes, heat, steam and odour produced by the food itself. This is particularly true if you offer a buffet or cooking at the table.
The idea is to ensure enough ventilation and cooling to address these challenges so that guests don’t face discomfort from them.
3. Kitchen design
Designing the kitchen may not seem as important as designing the front of the house, but neglecting it can cause serious problems for the business down the line.
Moreover, the kitchen is also likely to require your most significant investment in the design process, making it more critical to plan.
These decisions must be made before you begin working on the aesthetic side of things as they form the base for your restaurant interior design.
4. Colour scheme
The impact of colour on the human psyche and mood has long been noted. Hence, your colour scheme will, quite literally, set the tone for the rest of your restaurant.
Red is conventionally thought of as stimulating the appetite, but it also evokes feelings of urgency and increases blood pressure. While this may work for fast food restaurants where the goals are volume and speed, it can ruin the ambience of other restaurants.
Instead of red, choose warm and muted colours that create a cheerful, comfortable space. Terracotta, Tuscan yellow and ochre on a base of creams, beiges and browns are solid for conventional choices.
Of course, this doesn’t mean all other colours are off-limits. Greens, in particular, are trendy, and so are the contemporary choices that can make a space feel airy, fresh and relaxing. Green is an excellent choice for upscale restaurants and those that focus on health as much as they do on taste.
Blue and purple can be interesting choices for lounges and bars, but they are better as small accents for other kinds of restaurants. These colours can destimulate the appetite, making them non-ideal for any restaurant that serves full-course meals.
5. Make a grand entrance
An attractive restaurant exterior and entrance is just as important as the interior because it’s what first draws your customers in. It does not need to be grand, but the entrance should be a good representation of the rest of your restaurant.
For instance, a cafe for young people could have a vintage motorcycle or another quirky piece of decor outside it, while a restaurant that targets corporate clients should keep things simple and chic.
A sign visible from the street (see: McDonald’s and Burger King outlets) and large windows that allow potential customers to look in is always a good choice.
6. Lighting is everything
Even the most beautiful and thoughtfully-curated restaurant interior can be ruined by illuminating the wrong light. As mentioned above, red and very cool colours are not ideal, except as very minimal accents.
Excessively bright, cool white lights can also put customers off their appetite. Instead, choose yellow and neutral or warm white lights according to the aesthetic you would like your space to have.
Brighter lights can help create a more lively, fast-paced atmosphere, while muted lighting, especially in a darker space, can create an intimate, laid-back feel that is perfect for a lounge or fine dining space where you want your customers to spend hours and takes the time to savour their food and drinks.
7. Remember the restrooms
Your restaurant's restroom is not typically what you would advertise, but an inappropriately designed one can turn off your customers like nothing else.
Depending on the size of your restaurant, you will need to decide between stall-style restrooms or regular ones. Either way, make sure the lighting and colours are not too stark.
The use of premium materials like granite, quartz and certain hardwoods can make even a restroom feel sophisticated, while plush and spotlessly clean seating arrangements can make it comfortable.
As you can see, designing a restaurant is much more complex than designing a personal home and even many other kinds of commercial establishments.
Among other factors, you need to keep in mind what your target clientele wants, take into account the vision of other stakeholders in the business, find a way to translate your creative vision into reality and, of course, do all of this while keeping the space as functional as possible for both customers and staff.
If you don’t have prior experience with this sort, a professional’s help can mean the difference between a successful restaurant and an unsuccessful one. Hipcouch can help you navigate this journey from start to finish. Contact us today for restaurant interior design that translates to loyalty and business.The use of premium materials like granite, quartz and certain hardwoods can make even a restroom feel sophisticated, while plush and spotlessly clean seating arrangements can make it comfortable.
As you can see, designing a restaurant is much more complex than designing a personal home and even many other kinds of commercial establishments.
Among other factors, you need to keep in mind what your target clientele wants, take into account the vision of other stakeholders in the business, find a way to translate your creative vision into reality and, of course, do all of this while keeping the space as functional as possible for both customers and staff.
If you don’t have prior experience with this sort, a professional’s help can mean the difference between a successful restaurant and an unsuccessful one. Hipcouch can help you navigate this journey from start to finish. Contact us today for restaurant interior design that translates to loyalty and business.